Your turn ? June 17, 2010

Published 12:00 am, Thursday, June 17, 2010

Break down a trillion

A billion here, a trillion there. Perhaps, a better way to grasp the magnitude of our debt is to think of its impact on each of us individually.

For the approximately 307 million Americans, a debt of $1 billion equates to about $3.25 per capita. A $1 trillion debt equates to $3,250 per capita. Economists project that government spending plans will result in a $13 trillion debt by the year 2020 — or $42,250 per capita.

The government has no money of its own; it relies on taxes, fees, royalties, etc. from citizens to cover its debt. Our trend is not sustainable. We must open our eyes to what lies ahead if the Obama administration carries through with its spending plans and its push for more government control of our economy and the means of production.

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He clearly broke law

Re: “Harvard student facing deportation” (Page 1, Saturday):

“Model students” don't break the law on a daily basis. Illegal residents in the U.S. are called illegal because they are breaking the law.

In the case of Eric Balderas, he's stealing every day. He's stolen from hard-working Texas taxpayers who paid almost $100,000 to educate him for 12 years. How about taxpayer-provided health care, food, housing and other assistance?

He has stolen a place at Harvard from the legal citizen who deserved it. He has stolen the value of his scholarship. Was he honest on his applications to Harvard and for financial assistance?

No one should be rewarded with tens of thousands in benefits for breaking the law, especially when it is done knowingly, willingly and continually and harms others in the process.

Thank goodness they caught Eric Balderas. I am so tired of illegal immigrants coming over here to take all of our molecular biology research jobs.

Me and my buddies sit around drinking beers, watching sports and talking about how we would love to run over to Boston to do some molecular biology research if only the illegal immigrants didn't take all those opportunities away from us.

Hopefully, at that July 6 hearing, clear heads will prevail and send that molecular biology researcher where he belongs.

Mark Gibson

Immigrant flow slows

Facts about immigration:

?The fertility rate in Mexico has declined from about 6.7 children per woman in 1970 to about 2.1 today, according to World Bank figures, which is roughly equal to the U.S. birth rate and puts it at “replacement level” — which means the numbers of illegal immigrants are declining, rapidly.

?Actual numbers began to decline during the last decade. The Pew Hispanic Center says the average number of illegal immigrants between 2000 and 2004 was about 800,000 per year, which dropped to about 500,000 per year from 2005 to 2008.

?American citizens will not do jobs the immigrants do. I've read about farmers who have raised the wages of pickers from $11 to $14 an hour, yet got few takers and they usually managed to stay only one day. Housekeeping in resorts is the same. Despite a high unemployment rate, a resort where I used to live had to import housekeepers from out of the country as no local people would do the work.

So let's be realistic. There are jobs even unemployed Americans won't do. More to the point, the problem is taking care of itself due to a lower birth rate and, over the last decade, fewer illegal immigrants are entering the U.S. from Mexico.

From the time I was 16 until I was 65-plus and retired, the government took a percentage of my wages to place in the Social Security Trust Fund. The check I now get is a legitimate return on an investment made for my future well-being. The fact that the same government “borrowed” and spent my investment does not rest on me.

From age 21 until I was 42, I served in the military through several police actions and, during one war, I “earned” the right to continued medical care. That care is the fulfillment of the government's contractual obligation for my service.

From the time I was 65 until today, the government has taken a percentage of my income (Social Security) to fund the Medicare system. I consider the availability of that service (Medicare) to be a return on investment.

I have a solution for immediate relief of the daily gridlock on U.S. 281 North. It probably won't sell because it doesn't require much money or manpower.

Why not install a perch/crow's nest/tower for a policeman at each traffic light from Loop 1604 to near Bulverde with a remote control so the traffic can be controlled “manually” both ways during peak travel? The officer will be able to see the bottlenecks developing and rectify them before traffic stacks up.

For example, from Brook Hollow to the last traffic light heading north each afternoon, it is bumper-to-bumper with very little movement, and when the traffic comes off Sonterra Boulevard it's difficult for that traffic to join 281 because there is very little flow. I suggest the towers be occupied from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. Our traffic planners can determine the times for the morning mad dash to work.

I read Froma Harrop's column and find it generally amusing. Her take on the “facts” typically involves bashing conservatives and spewing other drivel that doesn't amount to much.

A journalist's word, the written word, is his or her pact with readers. The accuracy of these facts will make a journalist or destroy them. While Harrop and I can differ on the facts of politics, we cannot differ on mathematics, which is defined by numbers that behave in a finite and set way, such as 2+2=4.

Well, that is until you get into Harrop's math “facts.” According to her, if you add 40, 12 and 39, you get 100 percent, but actually 40+12+39=91.

In her June 4 column, “Tea-partiers' hypocrisy,” Harrop came up with the addition above. If her math is incorrect, what else in her columns is incorrect?

J.D. LeCoq

BP's motive is selfish

Re: gulf oil disaster:

It seems that much of the problem is BP is more interested in capturing the oil for its benefit rather than stopping the flow to save the Gulf of Mexico and those who depend on the it — human and wildlife.

I have been with the homeless since I was a homeless person in March of 2008. I was called to serve the homeless in a walking ministry like Jesus had, and each Saturday, I distribute Bible tracts.

I've been told by a pastor that Haven for Hope is privately financed. I beg to differ because, if it was privately financed, why do residents have to sign in and out when they get clothes, when they shower and receive food and have to be locked in at night like a concentration camp? Haven for Hope says this is for the residents' own protection.

I was told by a woman there that the residents who sleep outside in the courtyard are given a thin rubber mat and one sheet. Also, they have yet to receive as promised a hot meal, but instead get one sandwich, chips, fruit and a bottle of water.

What will Haven do when it's filled to capacity? If Haven for Hope is such a Christian place, the homeless shouldn't have to check in and out, but have their freedom as before.